What's a Zafu?

 The word zafu originates from the word zazen which means "sitting meditation".

In the Western world, zafu refers to a meditation pillow that helps to find a comfortable position during meditation practice or can also be used as a support in certain yoga postures (asanas).

How to choose your zafu?
Before you buy a zafu, you can ask the following questions:
- What do you want to use your zafu? for your meditation practice, for yoga or also as decoration at home?
- What colors and shapes do you like?
- How tall do you need? The zafus of yogamaterial.com has a zipper and so you can adjust the height by adding or removing the filling.

The entire human body is unique. Notice how flexible you are with your hips, ankles and back. According to that, you must choose your zafu. If you don't have much flexibility in your body, it is recommended to choose a bigger and wider zafu. If your body is very flexible, it may be enough to choose a lower zafu. Anyway, the good thing about our zafus is that you can adjust the height, as mentioned, by adding or removing the filling.

For what yoga postures can a zafu be used as a support?
- mainly for meditation and some sitting
postures - for Viparita Karani (one of the inverted ones on the shoulders, known as legs above the wall) placing the pelvis higher
- in all postures with the belly down (Salambasana cycle)
* for pregnant women - should be done with the guidance of an experienced teacher

There is an abundance of zafus available on the market, in different sizes, shapes, colors and materials.

What material are zafus made of?
The zafus that we have in yogamaterial.com are all handmade in Portugal. They are made of cotton twill and stuffed with buckwheat husk. And if you ask - why do we use buckwheat husks as stuffing? Buckwheat husks are the outer husk of buckwheat grain, which is too difficult for humans or animals to eat and is therefore a waste product.

Buckwheat husks have the quality of being very resistant and at the same time adjust very well to the shape of your body and offer an anchoring sensation. Some yoga pads start to flatten after using them for a while. Thanks to the resistant quality of buckwheat husks, our zafus won't flatten or deform. All of our zafus also have a side strap that facilitates their transportation during trips, retreats, festivals and in daily use at home.

You can find a variety of zafus in our online shop, round and crescent shaped, from orange to blue and green.
I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.